Linde to build world’s largest CO2 purification and liquefaction plant

Trade News

Munich, 22 August 2013 – The technology company The Linde Group has been awarded a contract to build the world’s largest carbon dioxide (CO2) purification and liquefaction plant for Jubail United Petrochemical Company (UNITED), a manufacturing affiliate of SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation). The plant will be located in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia.

The plant will be designed to compress and purify around 1,500 tonnes per day of raw carbon dioxide coming from two nearby ethylene glycol plants. The purified gaseous CO2 will be pipelined through the piping corridor of the Royal Commission of Jubail to three SABIC-affiliated companies for enhanced methanol and urea production. Methanol is a basic commodity for the chemical industry and urea is used for fertilizer production. In summary, an estimated 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions will be saved each year.

The plant will also be capable of producing 200 tonnes per day of liquid CO2 with food grade quality which will be stored and thereafter supplied by truck to the beverage and food industry.

Linde Engineering Dresden will be responsible for the concept and basic engineering, front end engineering design (FEED) and detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the facility to be completed on a fast-track schedule. Mechanical completion is set to be achieved in 2015.

The plant is the first carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project of this size to be realised in Saudi Arabia. The reduction of CO2 emissions is an important aim in both SABIC's and Linde’s sustainability strategy.

About The Linde Group

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 62,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2012 financial year, Linde generated revenue of EUR 15.280 bn. The strategy of the Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The company is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

Under the ”Clean Technology by Linde“ label, the company offers a wide range of products and technologies that help to render renewable energy sources financially viable, and significantly slow down the depletion of fossil resources or reduce the level of CO2 emitted. This ranges from specialty gases for solar module manufacturing, industrial-scale CO2 separation and application technologies to alternative fuels and energy carriers such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen.